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High Street tea chain Whittard on brink of collapse
Anna Davis23 Dec 2008
London high street chain Whittard of Chelsea was on the brink of administration today after a period of poor sales left it struggling.
The tea and coffee retailer has lined up Ernst & Young as administrators, a source close to the company confirmed.
The source added: "Whittard is still trading and has not filed for administration yet. It's still talking to potential buyers. Ernst & Young have been appointed as administrators though, should it go into administration."
Another source confirmed: "Whittard is struggling at the moment just like everyone else."
If the high street chain does go into administration "buyers could potentially still buy it, as a whole or part of the business". Whittard, which has 135 stores in the UK, was bought by the Icelandic investment company Baugur in 2005 for approximately £21million.
It was originally founded by Walter Whittard in 1886, trading in Fleet Street.
Baugur was hit by the collapse of Iceland's economy this year, sparking fears over the future of its many high street UK retail assets. The company has investments in supermarket chain Iceland, Hamleys, Goldsmiths jewellers, House of Fraser and fashion stores Whistles and Jane Norman.
In May it offloaded the loss-making women's clothes retailer Mark One, as it "no longer fitted into the portfolio". Ernst & Young declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Woolworths, the store chain which has already collapsed, is now in its final days of a fire sale which has seen even the shelves being offered to shoppers.
Managers are being given cash bonuses by the administrators for extracting every bit of value out of the remains of the shops, with fixtures and fittings for sale.
Shopping baskets can be bought for £1 each, the in-store safes can be taken away for £300, while staff noticeboards are on offer for £10.
Reader views (6)
The credit crunch is if nothing else providing an opportunity to weed out the good from the bad. I never understood Whittards. The same gaudy plates and mugs and a superfluous display of teas and coffees. Everyone I know who is into coffee now has coffee machines with capsules. And Whittards certainly did not provide the service of the old style coffee shops which roasted their own coffee and had knowledgeable staff.
The high street needs a rethink. There is nothing decent for older people (I buy everything in Primark & H&M, or Zara and never look in any other shops). All the shops seems to sell the same tat - or otherwise have hugely inflated prices. I don't even enjoy shopping anymore - the sales assistants don't have a clue and are disinterested. And it's all a marketing hype.
- Bb, London, 23/12/2008 17:31
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When are we going to invade the bankers houses and strip them bare for the Administrators?
- Dc, London
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Conversely, "Dc", when are they going to invade reckless homebuyers houses for taking out 125% mortgages, and put them in the stocks for all to see how stupid they all were, for not taking note of the historical facts of boom & bust as regards interest rates?..........Yeah, thought so, and I ain't no lover of the Banks either!
It takes two to tango!
GERONIMO
- Geronimo, LONDON MIDDLESEX, 23/12/2008 16:47
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Give me strength. The bankers did not cause this mess. Greed caused this mess. Most people had to have the latest this and the snazziest that. When will you all take some responsibility and stop finger pointing? I do agree that the banks made credit easier to obtain, but no-one put a gun to your head and made you spend beyond your means in the first place. THINK for once, please!
- Ms, London, 23/12/2008 13:47
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DC, get a life stop blaming the bankers. Start looking a bit more closer to home, the people who borrowed and could not pay back
- Phil, London, 23/12/2008 13:45
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Obviously teatering on the edge...
- Adam, Harrow, UK, 23/12/2008 10:36
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Sure the taxpayers can bail them out. Come on Crash, what will Britain do without a tea shop? Satisfied you greedy bankers who caused all this mess? Oh I suppose you go to Harrods for yours so it won't affect you!...When are we going to invade the bankers houses and strip them bare for the Administrators?
- Dc, London, 23/12/2008 10:27
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